Will launch Mulayam-led front on July 6 to ‘strengthen’ Samajwadi Party: Shivpal

The rebel leader claimed that the ‘Samajwadi’ movement was losing ground because those at the helm of the party had not delivered on their promises.

lucknowUpdated: May 31, 2017 17:58 IST

M Tariq Khan

Hindustan Times, Lucknow

Rebel Samajwadi Party leader Shivpal Singh Yadav (right) said he would be the convenor of the front, while Mulayam would be its president.(PTI photo)

Rebel Samajwadi Party leader Shivpal Singh Yadav has announced plans to form a distinct front within the political organisation on July 6, with former party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav as its president.

Shivpal said the front, called the Samajwadi Secular Morcha, would act as an internal pressure group with the singular objective of ousting those who have “weakened and harmed” the party. “The launch will be formally announced at a meeting in Lucknow,” he added.

The Samajwadi Party leader said he would act as the convenor of the front. “Unity in the family is possible only under the leadership of Netaji (Mulayam). I want to ensure that Netaji’s honour is upheld.”

Mulayam, however, is yet to acknowledge his brother’s plans. “He did not speak to me about this,” he told HT when Shivpal issued a similar statement a few months ago.

Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav had wrested the reins of the party from Mulayam to become its president on January 1, following a bitter intra-familial feud that extended over months. The power struggle took its toll on the party in the Uttar Pradesh assembly election, and the BJP stormed to power by a significant margin.

Shivraj claimed that the ‘Samajwadi’ (socialist) movement was losing ground because those at the helm of the party had not delivered on their promises. “They also failed to give the required impetus to this ideology, which talks of equality among all classes,” he said. “We cannot blame outsiders for this.”

Denying that he wanted to establish a separate political outfit, the rebel leader said he was merely trying to bring like-minded people onto a single platform for strengthening secular outfits in their fight against the BJP.